In one of the recordings Mr Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, allegedly instructs his son to dispose of large amounts of money from a residence.

The prime minister has said the recording was fabricated and part of moves to discredit his government ahead of key local elections on March 30.

He told a crowd of supporters at a rally: "We will wipe out all of these. The international community can say this, can say that. I don't care at all. Everyone will see how powerful the Republic of Turkey is."

After his speech, Mr Erdogan's office said in a statement he was referring to what it called Twitter's failure to implement the court orders seeking the removal of some links.

The prime minister has directed his ire at Twitter before, labelling it "a scourge" after it was used to fuel a series of popular protests last summer.